Ren handed the lillies to the pretty redhead waiting tables at the cafe, who squealed and hugged him.
"Lillies, my favourites! And on my birthday too! How wonderful! Thanks, Ren!" She let go of him, and darted inside to find a vase. Ren chose that moment to dart into the crowd, and chuckled with happiness. Making others feel good always made him feel good.
And, omg, that
hair of hers! It had smelt so good, brushing against his nose! Fruity, with a hint of vanilla... just like one of the orchids he had at home... He had almost let himself slip there, wanting to inhale deeply, inhale that scent of hers.
But there were times, and places for things like that... primal things, things that shouldn't be seen in public, and he would only do those things with a willing partner. Though she had hugged him, he knew that there were rumours of that beautiful redhead's happy engagement to one of the Purine guards, and he wouldn't touch another man's woman. Besides, there were plenty of others, who were less happy and more... open to suggestions.
Here came one of them now. "Hey Ren", she called, batting her eyelashes at him. "Stopping by later? It's been awful lonely since your last visit".
He grinned, and her eyes widened. Oh, that smile of his! It was like chocolate, melting in her mouth! His smile generally had one of two effects: either you wanted to boost it, and make him laugh, or you wanted to break it, and make him scream. (A lot of people had experienced both, but they didn't share it around. Part of his charm was the secrecy, and who would suspect a nice young man like him? Closed doors, locked lips - no pun intended.)
"Not today, I'm afraid. I'm trying out a new place, downtown. I heard the landlady was having a hard time with managing things, so I'm going to see what I can do. See you!" She watched his brown hair recede as he darted through the crowds, and sighed. Somehow, it always seemed like the sun had gone down when he left...